Search Results (3,034)

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as one of the most promising next-generation photovoltaic (PV) technologies due to their high power conversion efficiencies, low-temperature processing, and potential for low-cost manufacturing. Despite these advantages, several challenges remain that hinder their large-scale commercialization, particularly related to environmental sustainability, long-term stability, and end-of-life management (EoL). Life cycle assessment (LCA) has become an essential tool to evaluate the environmental impacts of emerging PV technologies and to identify critical hotspots across the supply chain. At the same time, concerns regarding material toxicity, particularly lead content, as well as the lack of established recycling pathways, highlight the importance of effective EoL management strategies. This review examines the current state of research on the life cycle environmental performance of perovskite solar modules (PSMs) and evaluates emerging approaches for sustainable EoL management. The study synthesizes the existing literature on manufacturing processes, environmental impact indicators, material recovery, recycling technologies, and circular economy strategies relevant to perovskite PVs. Particular attention is given to innovation-driven approaches that integrate sustainability considerations into technology development and commercialization pathways. By identifying key environmental hotspots, technological challenges, and research gaps, this review provides insights into how sustainable innovation and circular resource management can support the transition of PSMs from laboratory-scale research to economically viable and scalable commercial deployment. Full article

Vertical greenery is increasingly applied in modern cities for environmental improvement and landscape enhancement. Given the insufficient coverage of recent developments in research and practice by prior reviews, this paper conducts a systematic review based on literature from Web of Science and global patent databases following PRISMA guidelines, with CiteSpace used for bibliometric analysis. This study summarizes the theoretical achievements of vertical greenery in ecological environment, building energy efficiency and technical materials. It also analyzes practical innovations via patent mining—a new supplement compared with traditional reviews. The environmental impacts of both outdoor and indoor vertical greenery are elaborated on: outdoor systems improve urban microclimate, noise control and air quality; indoor systems enhance indoor comfort, air purification and people’s mental status. Current innovations are categorized into structure and equipment, intelligent management, and social–cultural values. The outcomes of this work offer practical guidance for the design, construction and maintenance of vertical greenery in real projects. This paper also identifies future research priorities for the long-term development of vertical greenery. Full article

Maritime transportation, a traditionally polluting sector, is engaged in sustainable innovation; advanced detection of marine pollution incidents can help control improvements in this sector. However, coastal and marine environmental governance is increasingly constrained by fragmented monitoring architectures in which environmental, operational, and regulatory datasets remain distributed across institutions and jurisdictions. Comprehensive governance mechanisms that cross the sea–land continuum are limited. Public authorities, port administrations, research institutes, and private operators independently monitor marine pollution, vessel movements, coastal pressures, and urban and ecological risks; however, these data streams remain siloed across organizational, sectoral, and jurisdictional boundaries. The absence of interoperability, real-time exchange, and coordinated analytics generates a gap between monitoring capacity and regulatory effectiveness, resulting in delayed detection of multi-risks, such as pollution incidents. Weak governance and assignment of responsibility and largely reactive enforcement practices further reinforce the problem. Anticipatory interventions are needed to improve coastal and marine sustainability. This paper examines the EMMERA (East Med Cross-border Marine Environmental Risk Assessment through E-Platform Integrated Data Management) platform established by three port authorities as a data-centric intervention designed to address some of these structural limitations. Implemented in port and coastal environments in Cyprus, Greece, and Israel, EMMERA integrates heterogeneous static and dynamic data sources—including satellite observations, administrative records, vessel information, and drone-based monitoring—into a unified operational framework accessible to competent authorities. Through data fusion, cross-validation, and automated anomaly detection combined with targeted drone verification, the platform aims to transform fragmented monitoring streams into coherent, actionable environmental intelligence, strengthening the evidentiary basis for regulatory intervention. The paper presents the platform design and provides a baseline assessment. It argues that EMMERA’s primary contribution lies not in the introduction of additional monitoring tools, but in enabling more effective coastal and marine environmental governance through integrated data infrastructures. EMMERA is proposed as a governance-oriented integrated data infrastructure whose anticipated contribution lies in improving institutional interoperability, risk visibility, and evidence generation for environmental oversight, even as operational effectiveness will require future evaluation following sustained deployment. More broadly, the paper proposes that integrated data architectures can recalibrate environmental governance, shifting emphasis from post hoc documentation toward anticipatory, coordinated, and performance-oriented regulatory practices. Full article

Global climate challenges and regulatory pressures have strengthened the link between carbon risk and corporate financial distress. We examine the impact of carbon risk on corporate financial distress and its underlying mechanisms using China’s accession to the Paris Agreement as an exogenous shock, employing a combination of difference-in-differences and double machine learning approaches. We find that high-carbon firms are significantly less likely to experience financial distress compared to low-carbon firms in China. Mechanism analysis indicates that the relationship between carbon risk and corporate financial distress is positively moderated by the green innovation effect, ESG performance, and media attention. The heterogeneity analysis indicates that carbon risk mitigates financial distress more pronouncedly in high-tech industries, high-pollution industries, competitive markets, and firms with strong environmental governance practices. Furthermore, we investigate whether carbon risk is an effective predictor of financial distress. Based on XGBoost (eXtreme Gradient Boosting, version Python 3.13) and SHAP (Shapley Additive Explanations) value analysis, we find that carbon risk significantly enhances the accuracy and explanatory power of financial distress prediction models. The results provide important guidance for policymakers in creating low-carbon strategies, businesses in improving financial management, and investors in assessing carbon risk. Full article

As the world focuses more on the Sustainable Development Goals, there is a growing need to assess applied environmental improvement actions across regions. In this research, we suggest that policymakers prioritize the Circular Economy (CE) and Eco-Innovation (EI) to enhance decision making in response to environmental sustainability challenges. Our research offers a groundbreaking framework that integrates CE and EI concepts, providing an innovative lens for monitoring and comparing improvements in environmental sustainability. This approach not only identifies provinces excelling in environmental sustainability strategies but also sheds light on the ones going through demanding situations in regions like uneven improvement and environmental aid control. Considering the provinces of China as a macro-case study, the proposed framework precisely integrates nudge theory with the simultaneous assessment of criteria and options (SECA) methodology, enriched by professional insights and a comprehensive literature review. The findings show that Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Shandong are the most environmentally sustainable provinces for growth. Other provinces and areas that struggle with inconsistent growth and ecological aid management due to difficult circumstances include Tibet, Qinghai, and Hainan. Our findings make appreciable contributions to the discourse on environmental sustainability. Full article

Schoenoplectus californicus (C.A.Mey.) Soják is a dominant freshwater wetland macrophyte with ecological, technological, and biocultural importance. This multidisciplinary review synthesizes its ecological functioning and environmental applications through a systematized analysis of 66 studies screened by title, abstract, and full text. The literature was classified into seven thematic categories: water treatment and phytoremediation; wetland ecology, biomass, and ecosystem functioning; functional ecology, growth, and landscape connectivity; morphology, anatomy, and functional adaptation; biocultural dimensions, sustainable construction, and technological applications; nutritional and ethnobotanical uses; and cultural heritage and traditional management. Research was concentrated mainly in water treatment and phytoremediation (19 studies, 28.8%), followed by wetland ecology, biomass, and ecosystem functioning (13 studies, 19.7%) and biocultural dimensions, sustainable construction, and technological applications (13 studies, 19.7%). Functional ecology, growth, and landscape connectivity represented 5 studies (7.6%), morphology, anatomy, and functional adaptation represented 4 studies (6.1%), while nutritional and ethnobotanical uses and cultural heritage and traditional management each represented 6 studies (9.1%). Overall, the evidence shows that S. californicus is a multifunctional wetland species whose value emerges from the interaction among ecological functioning, contaminant retention, biomass production, structural adaptation, technological innovation, traditional knowledge, and biocultural continuity. Full article

This study empirically examines the impact of natural resource rents (NRR), a proxy for economic benefits and costs of natural resources, on green growth (GG) in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries from 1996 to 2020, while accounting for the moderating roles of green innovations and environmental regulations. Using the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG) and Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimators as our baseline model, the analysis reveals a significantly negative association between natural resource rents and green growth in OECD countries, consistent with the resource curse hypothesis, which reflects heightened economic, institutional, and environmental risks associated with resource reliance. Furthermore, the results indicate that green innovations and environmental regulations not only promote green growth but also weaken the adverse association between natural resource rents and green growth, thereby suggesting their positive roles in managing resource-related risks. These findings remain robust across alternative variable definitions and model specifications. Overall, the empirical evidence highlights the importance of adopting policy measures, such as increased investment in sustainable technology research and development and providing incentives for firms to implement environmentally friendly practices, to manage resource-related risks and support the transition toward sustainable development. Full article

The transition of South Africa’s mining sector from a linear take–make–waste model to a circular economy is critical for environmental sustainability and resource security. While the existing literature heavily favors generic, theoretical solutions, this review paper bridges the gap by mapping validated circular technologies directly onto named local operations and specific regional waste profiles. By pairing engineering innovations such as automated sorting and geopolymer synthesis with site-level mineralogical realities and techno-economic limits, this work provides a realistic blueprint for sustainable resource management and holistic landscape restoration. However, widespread implementation is currently constrained by a lack of commercial-scale data, low data transparency regarding corporate waste inventories, static economic modeling, and ambiguous regulatory definitions that separate waste from by-products. To overcome these limitations, a phased, internationally benchmarked policy roadmap aligned with South Africa’s critical minerals strategies is proposed. Future research should focus on industrial field trials, blockchain-secured geospatial waste databases, dynamic life-cycle assessments, and cross-sector synergy mapping. Ultimately, aligning technological innovations with updated waste classification standards, specialized tax incentives, and carbon-credit structures will allow South Africa to mitigate its legacy environmental liabilities while safeguarding its position in the shifting global critical minerals market. Full article

The intensification of agriculture and large-scale rural development policies present major challenges to the sustainability of agroecosystems worldwide. In China, the ‘Rural Revitalization Strategy’ has reshaped rural landscapes, yet its net impact on the interplay between agricultural production, ecosystem health, and human well-being remains poorly quantified at a national scale. This study investigates the spatiotemporal dynamics of Rural Ecological Livability (REL)—an integrated measure of agroecosystem health and quality of life—and identifies its key agro-ecological and socioeconomic drivers across 31 Chinese provinces from 2005 to 2020. We employed an innovative evaluation framework and a nested-weight spatial Durbin model to analyze these complex interactions. Our findings reveal a significant, yet spatially uneven, improvement in REL, with a persistent gradient between developed coastal regions and inland agricultural provinces. Forest coverage and moderate climatic conditions were key positive local drivers of REL. Crucially, our model uncovers significant negative spatial spillovers, demonstrating that intensified agricultural mechanization in one province can degrade the ecological livability of neighboring agroecosystems, likely through increased market competition and resource pressure. These results reveal a critical tension between local agricultural modernization and regional environmental sustainability. They underscore the necessity for agri-environmental policies that transcend administrative boundaries and manage landscape-level spillovers to achieve truly sustainable agroecosystem management. Full article

This study investigates how sustainable leadership enhances green performance in the tourism and hospitality sector, specifically among managers and supervisors working in five-star hotels and travel agencies, by examining the mediating roles of green innovation and green self-efficacy through the lenses of the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT). A quantitative research approach was adopted, utilizing survey data collected from 788 managers and supervisors employed in Egyptian five-star hotels and travel agencies operating within a highly competitive tourism destination context. The findings indicate that sustainable leadership has a significant positive effect on green performance and positively influences both green innovation and green self-efficacy. Moreover, green innovation and green self-efficacy significantly contribute to green performance and partially mediate the relationship between sustainable leadership and environmental outcomes. This study contributes to the literature on sustainability, tourism, and organizational behavior by providing an integrated framework that links sustainable leadership with organizational innovation capabilities and employees’ environmental competencies. In addition, the findings extend the explanatory power of RBV and DCT in explaining how sustainable leadership practices translate into enhanced environmental performance in tourism and hospitality organizations. From a practical perspective, the study highlights the importance of adopting leadership practices that foster green innovation, strengthen employees’ environmental confidence, and promote proactive environmental behavior within organizations. Full article

The increasing generation of solid waste has become a critical environmental and economic challenge worldwide, demanding innovative strategies for sustainable management and resource recovery. In this context, the conversion of solid waste into green materials has emerged as a promising approach to reduce environmental impacts associated with waste disposal. This review provides an overview of recent advances in the transformation of various solid waste streams (including agricultural residues, food waste, industrial by-products, and municipal solid waste) into value-added green materials. Particular emphasis is placed on innovative synthesis processes such as thermochemical conversion, hydrothermal treatments, biological transformations, and advanced physicochemical methods that enable the production of functional materials with enhanced properties. The review also discusses the potential applications of these materials in areas such as environmental remediation, catalysis, energy storage, and construction materials. Overall, the valorization of solid waste into green materials represents a sustainable pathway to reduce environmental burdens while generating high-value products for diverse industrial sectors. Full article

There is a need to ensure that the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in increasingly automated operations is safe, human-centric, and trustworthy, and respects ethical principles. To this end, this paper presents an innovative holistic assessment framework to support certification-aware design of AI-based sociotechnical systems with a range of levels of automation along multiple design stages from low to high technology and human readiness levels (TRLs/HRLs). The holistic scope considers a range of relevant key performance areas (KPAs): safety, resilience, security, Human Factors, accountability, responsibility, liability, efficiency, societal sustainability, and environmental sustainability. The core of the framework is a seven-step cycle that assesses the KPAs for critical scenarios and evaluates the combined performance, including uncertainty and trade-offs. This provides feedback to either adapt the design at the same TRL/HRL or refine it at higher TRLs/HRLs. The framework enacted by a toolbox of assessment methods for the KPAs. The framework has been developed in the aviation domain, but it is formulated in a generic manner, enabling application to various AI techniques and operational domains. Its application is illustrated in detail for an air traffic management use case that employs an AI-based system to support air traffic controllers in sequencing aircraft. It is concluded that the framework provides a viable approach for holistic assessment of AI-based sociotechnical systems. Full article

Whether corporate digital spending can produce sustainability-related outcomes is still not well understood. Much of the existing discussion treats digital transformation as a broad strategic process, but firms make sustainability decisions through more concrete resource allocations, including investment in information systems, data infrastructure, and IT-based management tools. This study therefore focuses on IT investment and examines its relationship with corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Based on panel data for Chinese A-share listed firms from 2009 to 2024, we estimate fixed-effects models and further test the roles of technological spillovers, market competition, and ownership structure. The evidence indicates that firms with higher IT investment tend to report better ESG performance. This association remains significant when lagged IT investment is used, suggesting that the result is not merely driven by same-period correlation. Technological spillovers explain part of the relationship: IT investment appears to support ESG performance partly by improving technological learning, innovation diffusion, and knowledge accumulation. By contrast, market competition does not significantly change the IT investment–ESG relationship. Additional analysis shows that the positive effect is stronger in state-owned enterprises than in non-state-owned enterprises. The findings imply that IT investment can be viewed not only as a source of operational efficiency, but also as a digital resource that may strengthen firms’ capacity for sustainable governance. Full article

This scientific article presents a comprehensive case study detailing the design of a fully off-grid household in Poland, utilizing an energy solution that combines high-pressure hydrogen energy storage and photovoltaic (PV) technology. In response to the growing demand for sustainable and self-sufficient energy sources, the current study investigates the efficiency and yearly energy balance of this innovative system. The off-grid household is powered by a hybrid system that seamlessly integrates PV panels to harness solar energy and a high-pressure hydrogen energy storage system for long-term energy management. The presented case study examines the design and performance of a system integrating solar energy production with hydrogen storage. Through an analysis of real-world data and operational parameters, this research contributes valuable insights into the viability of such an off-grid solution in Polish environmental conditions. These findings provided an interesting approach to off-grid residential systems, offering a glimpse into the possible future of residential energetic autonomy in the pursuit of a greener and more resilient energy landscape. Full article

This study examines the influence of green market orientation (GMO) and green entrepreneurial orientation (GEO) on business competitiveness in increasingly demanding environmental contexts. Drawing on the literature on strategic management and sustainability, this research analyzes how environmentally oriented market and entrepreneurial capabilities contribute to strengthening firms’ competitive positioning. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from 200 companies in the agri-food and manufacturing sectors, and the data were analyzed through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results confirm that both GMO (β = 0.534; p < 0.001) and GEO (β = 0.395; p < 0.001) have a significant influence on competitiveness, with GMO showing a stronger impact. These findings suggest that firms integrating environmental market demands and fostering innovation, proactiveness, and risk-taking with an ecological focus achieve enhanced competitive performance. This study concludes that green-oriented strategic capabilities constitute key drivers of sustainable competitive advantages and represent a relevant pathway for organizational strengthening in dynamic and environmentally regulated markets. Full article